More and more devices are being replaced with autonomous and semiautonomous electronic devices. This is especially true in the hospitals of today with large arrays of autonomous and semiautonomous electronic devices being found in operating rooms, interventional suites, intensive care wards, emergency rooms, and the like. For example, glass and mercury thermometers are being replaced with electronic thermometers, intravenous drip lines now include electronic monitors and flow regulators, and traditional hand-held surgical instruments are being replaced by computer-assisted medical devices.
These electronic devices provide both advantages and challenges to the personnel operating them. Many of these electronic devices may be capable of autonomous or semiautonomous motion of one or more articulated arms and/or end effectors. These one or more articulated arms and/or end effectors each include a combination of links and articulated joints that support motion of the articulated arms and/or end effectors. In many cases, the articulated joints are manipulated to obtain a desired position and/or orientation (collectively, a desired pose) of a corresponding instrument located at a distal end of the links and articulated joints of a corresponding articulated arm. Each of the articulated joints proximal to the instrument provides the corresponding articulated arm with at least one degree of freedom that may be used to manipulate the position and/or orientation of the corresponding instrument. In many cases, the corresponding articulated arms may include at least six degrees of freedom that allow for controlling a x, y, and z position of the corresponding instrument as well as a roll, pitch, and yaw orientation of the corresponding instrument. Each articulated arm may further provide a remote center of motion. In some cases, one or more articulated arms and corresponding remote centers of motion or other points on the articulated arms may be allowed to move in order to track the movement of other parts of the electronic device. For example, when an instrument is inserted into a body opening, such as an incision site or body orifice, on a patient during a surgical procedure and a surgical table on which the patient is placed is undergoing motion, it is important for the articulated arm to be able to adjust the position of the instrument to the changes in the positions of the body opening. Depending upon the design and/or implementation of the articulated arm, the body opening on the patient may correspond to the remote center of motion for the articulated arm.
As each of the one or more articulated arms track the underlying movement, the corresponding articulated arm and/or other parts of the electronic device attempt to compensate for the movement in the body opening. When the articulated arms are not able to fully compensate for the movement of the body opening points, this may result in undesirable and/or unsafe consequences. This lack of compliance with the movement of the incision point may result in injury to the patient, damage to the articulated arms, and/or other undesirable outcomes.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to monitor the ability of the articulated arms to compensate for underlying movement in control points, such as body openings.